Jurassic Park/World: The 10 Best Scenes Featuring The T-Rex, Ranked

Few big-screen movie monsters are as iconic and beloved as the menacing Tyrannosaurus Rex. Though it has been featured in a number of sci-fi and fantasy films over the years, it’s most commonly associated with the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World series of films, thanks to the pioneering efforts of original director Steven Spielberg.

Not only is the T-Rex the most popular dinosaur in the fossil record, but it’s one of the meanest, as well. It’s the land-based equivalent to Spielberg’s killer Great White in Jaws, and that makes it entertaining in any scene it’s featured in. Speaking of which, here are the ten most incredible moments featuring this incredible Jurassic Park/World dinosaur, ranked by impact.

10 Eli Mills Gets Eaten

Among the many nefarious characters involved with InGen and its various affiliates, Eli Mills was one of the worst. Not only did he seek to exploit the Isla Nublar dinosaurs for the sake of profiteering, but he did so after killing Benjamin Lockwood, John Hammond’s partner in the development of dinosaur cloning technology.

Eli manipulated a host of people in order to get boots on the ground at Isla Nublar for the sake of bringing back live specimens. He then thought it would be a dynamite idea to start auctioning them off to the highest bidder, savory or no. His ambition caught up with him when the dinosaurs were released from his stronghold, including a T-Rex who devoured him on the spot.

9 The Blood Transfusion

Previous Jurassic Park/World films had shown human characters up close and personal with Tyrannosaurs, but none so much as Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. After capturing and sedating a T-Rex in the hold of a mercenary transport ship, its transfused blood is used to save the life of Blue, Owen Grady’s injured Velociraptor.

As one can imagine, it isn’t easy to obtain this blood. When Claire jams the needle in hard to get through the T-Rex’s thick skin, it alarms the creature. As the sedatives begin to wear off, the T-Rex becomes angrier, thrashing about the cargo container while Owen and Claire make a speedy exit.

8 The Surprise Attack

When the paddock security went down, dinosaurs of all sizes and species were free to run amok on Isla Nublar. They quickly settled into their own instinctual patterns as nature intended, which also included the hunter/prey dynamic. When Alan Grant, Tim, and Lex came across a herd of Gallimimus racing across an open field, they inadvertently got caught right in the middle of a stampede.

After avoiding being trampled on, the three watched the herd race off into the distance, only to be attacked by a T-Rex hiding in the nearby bushes. It was a startling moment for both the characters and the audience who watched as one helpless Gallimimus was devoured in brutal fashion before their eyes.

7 The City Rampage

For years, Jurassic Park fans wondered whether the dinosaurs would ever hit the mainland in a future film. Steven Spielberg granted their wish when he directed the sequel, which put a T-Rex directly on the streets of San Diego. It was a bizarre, yet entertaining moment that would serve as foreshadowing to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Outside of its natural environment, the T-Rex was a fish out of water in the big city, but it was the citizens that had to give way. The hulking dinosaur waded into people’s back yards, ate their pets, and tore entire blocks to shreds. Nothing would ever be the same after this unfortunate encounter.

6 The Indominus Fight

Jurassic Park III saw the unfortunate demise of a T-Rex in the jaws of a vicious Spinosaurus. To many audiences, it felt like a slap in the face to their beloved dinosaur. The Jurassic World filmmakers wanted to give the T-Rex its bite back, and what better way than to pit it against a genetically engineered super-predator?

Though the Indominus Rex was the film’s primary threat, it only served to set the stage for a climactic final scene where Claire Dearing releases the original T-Rex from the first Jurassic Park film. Once she led it back to the Indominus, the two engaged in a vicious fight. At first, the Indominus appeared to have the upper hand, but some timely intervention from Blue gave the T-Rex time to recover and tag-team it into submission. Critically injured, the Indominus was finally killed by an unexpected fourth party – The Mosasaurus.

5 The Tent Snooper

Camping out in the wild comes with its own inherent set of risks, and folks must take precautions to avoid potentially dangerous encounters with the local wildlife. That doesn’t count when there’s a T-Rex involved, however. The Lost World set up one of the most frightening and tense T-Rex scenes of any film in the franchise during the middle act.

A T-Rex honed in on blood stuck to a stained shirt that had been hanging on a line and waded into a human encampment to investigate. It stuck its enormous head inside the tent to sniff out the source of the blood while Sarah and Kelly lied helplessly in their sleeping bags, praying for their very lives.

4 The Unlikely Rescue

Though the T-Rex served as the primary antagonist during the first half of the original Jurassic Park, it made room for the Velociraptors to take over the second. These frightening pack hunters became the source of tension so thick, one needed a chainsaw to get through it. It all built to that final scene in the front lobby when the survivors are surrounded by Raptors who slowly close in for the kill.

Seconds before one makes a killing pounce, the T-Rex arrives to catch it in mid-air with its powerful jaws, triggering the other to attack it in a rage. It’s the distraction needed for a last-ditch escape, and one truly iconic shot of a victorious T-Rex.

3 The Spino Fight

Jurassic Park III was divisive among fans and critics who felt that the story was simply too small scale in comparison to what came before. In an effort to compensate for the lighter storyline, the filmmakers tried to counterbalance it with a brand new dinosaur antagonist – the Spinosaurus.

This gigantic dinosaur was much larger, faster, and more aggressive than the T-Rex, and that was demonstrated to full effect early in the film when the two crossed paths. Though the fight seemed evenly matched at first, the Spinosaurus eventually overcame the T-Rex and used its powerful jaws to snap its neck like a twig.

2 The Angry Mommy

Jurassic Park introduced the T-Rex as the voracious predator known to millions of people around the globe. However, the second film in the franchise asked the question as to whether the creatures were completely instinctual in thoughts and patterns, or whether they were more intelligent. This centered largely on a baby T-Rex who was a big part of the story.

When the baby is taken by mercenaries, they break its leg to make it call out in pain in order to attract its mother. Ian and Sarah snatch it away long enough to set the bone so it can heal, inadvertently attracting the attention of mommy and daddy. The two T-Rexes demand the return of their child, only to return and attack the human trailer in a nail-biting action sequence.

1 The Jeep Attack

Nothing beats the original T-Rex scene, and for good reason. Audiences had been waiting impatiently, and excitedly to see the king of all dinos make its grand appearance, and director Steven Spielberg did not disappoint. Taking his cues from previous films such as Jaws, Spielberg built the tension to agonizing levels before finally unleashing the grand spectacle of the Tyrannosaurus on his audience.

What followed was nothing short of cinematic history – not to mention a few good memes. For once, a believable, nearly real-life T-Rex was wreaking havoc and scaring the pants off adults and children alike. No stop motion animation here, only a perfect blend of CGI and full-size animatronic puppetry done to Spielberg’s exact specifications. Future T-Rex appearances in the franchise would never reach this pinnacle.

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